Yolk-separator and egg-opener.



. Patented DBO. l0, |90l. v W. AKENDRICK. l YOLK 'SEPARATOR AND EGGOPENER.

(Applicationlq-Apr. 1, 1901.

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w UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. KENDRICII, OF YALESVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- iHALF TO CHARLES MADEIRA, OF YALESVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

YOLK-SEPARATOR AND EGG-OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,315, dated December10, 1901.

Y Application filed April l, 1901. Serial No. 53,944. (No model.)

invention, such as will enable others skilledinthe art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the figures of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a yolk-separator and egg-opener 5 and it has forits object to provide a device in which the egg-shell can be formed.with an elongated opening by turningone part of the device upon theother part thereof, so as to form a slit in the egg-shell, through whichand an opening or slot in the device the white of the egg may pass outfrom the shell, retaining the yolk in the shell, and then by separatingthe two parts of the device the shell can be separated entirely aroundthe circumference, thus allowing the yolk to be taken out of the shell.

The device -is also adapted for use in breaking or severing the shell ofboiled eggs by slitting the shell in the manner above indicated and thenseparating one part of the shell from the other by pulling apart orseparating the two parts of the device.

To the accomplishment 0f the foregoing and such other objects ashereinafter appear the invention consists in the construction and in thecombination of parts comprising two cupshaped shells hinged androtatably connected together, so that one part may be rotated relativelyto the other and the parts then separated or openedby swinging upon thehinge, the cup-shaped portion being provided with a puncturing deviceadapted to form a slit in the egg-shell in rotating one member,relatively to the other.

Itfurther, consists infeatures of construction and in the arrangement ofparts, as will hereinafter be described and then sought to beparticularly defined by the claims, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming apart hereof, and in whiche- Figure 1 isa side elevation .of the device, showing the parts in their normalposition.

Fig. 2.is a similar view showing the relative position of the parts withone cup-shaped member in the position which it bears after ithas beenrotated to form the slitin the shell.

Fig. 3 is a side View showing the two cup- In the drawings the nu meral1 indicates two .I

ycup-shaped members stamped or spun or otherwise formed from metal orother material and connected together by a hinge 2, the

hinge being connected with the two members in such manner that onemember may rotate relatively to the other. This may be done in variousways. For instance, one leaf of the hinge may be connected to a ring orband (designated by the nu merai 3 and illustrated y as encircling oneof the cups) and held rotatably in place by the beads fi and 5, formedaround the mout-h ol' the cup, the other leaf of the hinge beingconnected directly to the opposite cup, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, or said hinge may have each of its leaves connected to a bandor ring 3, as indicated in Fig. 4 ,of the drawings, one band or ring foreach cup, the band or ring of each cup being applied in the same manneras the ring indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, or the hingemay bekotherwise connected, so as to permit one cup-shaped member to rotaterelatively-to the other.

Each cup-shaped member is provided at its edge or mouth with a flange 6,one being slightly larger in circumference than the other, so that whenbrought together one will lie inside of the other, and thus form a closejoint between the two. A portion of each liange is cut away, so thatwhen the two cutber relatively to the other. Forinstance,when.

the two cup-shaped members are in their normal position the length ofsaid slot will bey substantially as illustrated in Fig. l of thedrawings, and when one member has been rotated to its limit relativelyto the other the length of said slot will be substantially asillustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. This slot when the parts are inthe position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings will permit the whiteof the egg to pass through the slot from the opening or slit made in theegg-shell by the puncturing and cutting blades.

For the purpose of puucturing and cutting the egg-shell a suitable bladeis provided,

and in practice it is preferred to use two such blades. These blades aredesignated by the numeral 8, one of them being attached in a suitablemanner to each of the cup-shaped members, and each is provided with aninturned point 9, the edges of which may be beveled, so as to present asharp cutting edge. These blades are of spring metal and normally standout from the sides of the cupshaped members, as indicated by full linesin the drawings,and are adapted to be pressed inwardly by the thumb ofeach hand into the position indicated by dotted lines, so as to pierceor puncture the egg -shell. WVhen these blades are pressed inward withthe cupshaped members in the position shown in Fig. l of the drawings,they will puncture the egg-shell, and then by turning one memberrelatively to the other one blade will be moved away from the other-forinstance, to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawingsthe bladesevering the egg-shell to the extent of movement made, and at the sametime the slot 7 at the meeting edge of the two members is elongated fromthat shown in Fig. l to the extent shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.Still holding the blades pressed inwardly and turning the cup-shapedmembers sidewise, the white of the egg will ruu out of the shell andthrough the slot 7. Now by throwing open the two cup-shaped members upontheir connecting hinge and still retaining the blades pressed inwardlythe yolk of the egg may be discharged from the shell, the two parts ofthe shell being pulled apart in the opening of the cups and retained onepart in each cup-shaped member by the inturned point of thecutting-blades, or if the egg happens to be a boiled egg the shell isbroken and the parts separated in the manner described. When theegg-shells are to be removed from the cup-shaped members, thespring-blades spring outward on relieving the pressure of the thumbsthereon, and the shells can then be readily removed from the cup-shapedmembers.

For the purpose of limiting the rotation of one cup shaped memberrelatively to the other I provide suitable stops l0, one on each side ofthe hinge 2, said stops being formed by cutting and turning downportions of the flange 6 at the mouth of one of the cup-shaped members,thus forming lips which may lap over the band or ring 3, as indicated inFig. 3 of the drawings, and forming stops which, coming in contect withthe hinge on one side or the other thereof, according to the directionthereof in which the rotation is made,

will stop or limit the movement, and thus indicate the extent ofmovement both for the starting-point and for the stoppingpoint. Anyother formof stop for the purpose, however, may be provided, or thestops may be omitted entirely,without departing from other' features ofthe invention.

The device `formed as specified is simple, strong and durable, efficientand at the same time graceful and ornamental, and can be used foropening either raw or boiled eggs and will be found to be a most usefulan serviceable article of tableware or for culi.- nary purposes.

I have illustrated and described what I cousider to be the preferreddetails of construction and arrangement of the several parts, but it isobvious that changes can be made in the several features specified andessential features of my invention still be retained.

Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claimis- 1. The within yolk separator and eggopener comprising two cup-shapedmembers hinged and rotatably connected together and provided with meansfor puncturing and severing an egg-shell, substantially as described.

2. The within yolk separator and eggopener comprising two cup-shapedmembers hinged and rotatably connected together, said members beingformed with a slot at their severing an egg-shell, substantially asdescribed.

3. The within yolk separator and eggopener comprising two cup-shapedmembers, a band or ring loosely encircling one of said members, so as topermit one member to be rotated relatively to the other, a hinge foruniting the two cup-shaped members, said hinge being connected with saidring or band, and means for puncturing and severing an egg-shell,substantially as described.

4. The within yolk-separator and eggopener comprising two cup-shapedmembers hinged and rotatably connected together, said members beingformed with a slot at their meeting edges, and spring-influencedcutting-blades attached one to each cupshaped member and having aninturned point entering the slot between the cup-shaped members,substantially as described.

5. The within yolk-separator and eggopener comprising two cup-shapedmembers hinged and rotatably connected together, stops for limiting therotation of one member relatively to the other, and means for puncturingand severing an egg-shell,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. KENDRICK.

Witnesses:

W. S. HoToHKIss,

CURTIS A. DooLIT'rLE.

IIO

